Root cause

Past the symptom, to the cause

The underlying cause of an incident, backed by the evidence that points to it. It captures what actually went wrong, why, and the signals that confirm it, so the fix targets the cause instead of the symptom. Pull it straight from the incident review while the details are fresh.

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Streak reminders fired in UTC instead of local time

Root causeConfirmed

Theo

Category: code/design
Found in: Missed streak spike·Post-mortem
Product area: Notifications·Product area

Condition

Learners west of UTC got their streak reminder in the early afternoon, so many missed the evening window and lost the streak.

Root cause trace

MermaidPreviewSourceCopy

Streak reminders fire at the wrong hourScheduler used a UTC timestampNo timezone stored per learnerStore timezone, schedule locally

From the Jun 13 incident review

Related outcomes

Revise first-run screen with difficulty toggle and clearer progress ring
Action itemIn progressMia
Due date
Jul 11
Product area
Onboarding·Product area
Priority
High
What was committed
Mia will revise the first-run screen so a difficulty toggle appears before the listening sample, and redesign the progress ring on screen 2 so it is obvious what it is counting.
Why
In the design review nobody could say what the progress ring measured, and the difficulty toggle was decided as part of the listening-first onboarding flow that ships this month.
Done when
Difficulty toggle shows before the first listening sample
Progress ring has a label and counts lesson steps
Updated flow is in the design file and signed off by design
From the Jul 8 design review
Action item
Every commitment from a meeting, with an owner, a due date, and the source it came from.
Gate the podcast feature behind lesson 10
DecisionDecidedTheo
Product area
Podcast·Product area
Decided on
Jul 6
Deciders
Theo, Mia
Context
Learners who open the podcast in their first week churn at twice the rate of those who reach it later, because the episodes assume vocabulary they have not learned yet.
How we decided
MermaidPreviewSourceCopy
Gate the podcast behind lesson 10?Yes: keep first-week learners on the guided pathFirst-week churn halves
From the Jul 6 product sync
Decision
Capture what you decided, why, and what you ruled out
Should absolute beginners get a listening sample in onboarding?
Open questionOpenLin
Priority
Medium
Product area
Onboarding·Product area
The question
The new onboarding opens with a 2-minute listening sample followed by a comprehension check instead of a placement quiz. How should this flow handle learners who start with literally zero vocabulary? Should they even receive a listening sample?
Why it matters
Absolute beginners are the largest signup group. If the first thing they hear is a sample they cannot follow, we risk making them feel lost in the first minute instead of showing them the value of listening-first learning.
Options raised
Skip the sample for self-declared beginners and go straight to first words
Play a slower, ultra-short sample built only from cognates
Keep the sample but frame it as a preview, not a test
From the Jul 3 onboarding design review
Open question
Every unresolved question captured, with a name attached to it
Champion at Northwind Academy leaving before the renewal
RiskMonitoringLin
Likelihood
High
Impact
High
Account
Northwind Academy·Account
Description
Priya Rao, the district admin who championed Saga at Northwind Academy, is leaving in two months with no named successor, and the renewal lands 90 days out.
Risk to mitigation
MermaidPreviewSourceCopy
Champion Priya leavesWarm intro to her successor
Renewal case walks outBrief the superintendent
From the Jul 3 account review
Risk
Capture a threat to an objective with its likelihood, impact, and mitigation plan.

Root cause

Related outcomes

Action item

Decision

Open question

Risk